


Tears of Joy

by Anonymous



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:47:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28094121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Decided to change the prompt - "What statement from their RO would make your Button(s) cry?" and broaden it a bit.Created this work right here so hope you enjoy.
Collections: The Button(s) and their Scenarios





	Tears of Joy

**Atlas** 's eyes widened as he stared at the person in the doorway. He didn't want to believe it, believe that she had come back.

Suddenly his defences are paper-thin, threatening to be soaked by the rapidly accumulating drops from his eyes.

He doesn't want to move, doesn't want to break the illusion but she makes the first move. She steps fully inside and looks directly into his eyes.

Atlas swears he stops breathing and before he knows what's happening, he feels himself melt into her form, into her embrace.

The tears he was holding back fall in earnest now as he wraps his arms, grips tight and _does not let go_.

"I'm sorry" he murmurs. Over and over again.

The words chanted like a prayer when suddenly he snaps back and she pushes to face him.

Her eyes are fierce in a way he's rarely seen before. Hope stared straight at him. "No," she says firmly. "You have nothing to apologies for."

He can feel his lift wobble and he buries his face in her chest. He's full-on crying now, surrounded by his family but he doesn't care.

Then she whispers something that breaks his heart and strengthens it tenfold.

" _ **I won't leave you again. Not anymore.**_ "

He doesn't have to read her mind to know she isn't lying. He knows. Tears spill as they clutch each other like lifelines. He doesn't care. His mum is back.

* * *

**Marshall** was shaking.

He was shaking from head to toe, and tears couldn't stop spilling from his eyes but he didn't dare move, didn't dare hope.

John and Hope were staring but he couldn't give two shits about how he looked like.

He knew he normally was the one that was composed, but he did not care that he hadn't showered in a while, that he hadn't left his besides since he'd been allowed in. That he'd been eating less and less each day. All he cared about was his brother.

He watched as Nick slowly cracked an eye opened.

Marshall couldn't breathe - he didn't want to.

The culprit behind the bombing was caught last month. Nick had somehow protected him from a latch ditch attempt to control him. Nick had told him he loved him and never said anything afterwards. His head had been quie- had been _empty_ for the past month.

Nick had flatlined three times this week and just two hours ago...They had thought that all was lost.

He didn't believe it but here it was. But there _he_ was, slowing staring back at him.

" ** _Aw, I'm back. Guess I can't haunt your mind anymore huh Button._** "

And the full weight of missing Nick, missing his brother crashed into him. He chocked back a sound, stuck between a laugh and a sob as he launched himself into Nick's chest. He didn't care how it looked like to the nurses, to the doctors, to anyone else in the room.

Fuck his composure, fuck his image, his brother was alive and he didn't fuck up.

 _His brother was alive_ \- that's all that mattered. Everything was right in the world now.

* * *

  
**Thea** had learnt to deal with four truths in her life.

The first was that Nicky the Puckity would give his life for hers. She would do the same of course, conquer the world and destroy it for Nick.

Her second truth was that she was a _zero_. She didn't care about it much, Pop always told her she was brimming with confidence. She was a goddess, Mum literally named her goddess. She could handle anything her way. She was also a Wiseman. They were the golden family of the media and Thea proudly bore the name like a badge of honour.

She was Thea Fucking Wiseman, Goddess incarnate and gorgeous to boot too.

So she didn't understand her third truth all that much to be honest.

She didn't understand why the kids didn't like her all that much but she just assumed they were jealous. Still, Thea could remember the harsh words that kid Jax or Chad or whatever bullshit name he had. ~~It couldn't beat her's anyways, not by a long shot~~.

She decked him as payback but his words still stung.

Sally was trailing behind her trying to get her attention but truth be told, Thea just wanted to go home and ~~cry in the shower~~ take a relaxing bath. She wasn't in the mood to talk with anyone so as soon as she stepped into the house, she immediately beelined into her room and shut the door.

The words circulated in her head and she rapidly shook them off. _Right. Bath first and then eat_. She went to do exactly that. Half an hour later and she still couldn't get the words out of her head.

In fact, she felt worse than before and now her stomach was begging her to feed it. Begrudgingly moving, she stomped her way down the stairs and entered the kitchen. Before she could even open the fridge, a hand popped out of nowhere and shoved a cookie down her mouth.

Just as she managed to spit it out, _out of sheer surprise mind you, she would never waste her delicacies thank you very much_ , Sally just shoved another Nectaroodle ~~so what if she is a greek nerd at this point, what did you expect~~ down her mouth while smirking widely.

" ** _Eat a nectaroodle Ms Wiseman. You're not you when you're hungry_**."

Later, Thea would tell you she had standards. She would tell you that she was absurdly confident with the skills to back it up. She was mature. She would tell you that she had not burst out laughing at her best friend's stupid joke to the point of falling on the ground. She had absolutely not snorted and proceeded to cry at that noise.

She didn't. ~~Liar~~.

Her fourth and final truth was that no matter her mood, Sally always knew how to cheer her up.

* * *

**Vy** has always been a gentle child. No one could really get mad at her because she honestly was too good to pure for this world.

Saint Nick, who kept calling her Saint Button as petty retribution, kept asking her if she was honest okay. Being that nice every day would be tiring. But she didn't find it tiring at all.

Most of the time, spreading her positivity around fueled her more than sleep did.

She was just coming home from her weekly trip to the gym when she found Saint Nicky with a letter face down in front of him.

"It arrived." He simply said.

Humming quietly to herself, Vy took her time putting away her things before opening the letter.

She took her time reading and could see her brother fidgeting in his seat. "So?" He bounces in his seat like a puppy for a minute or two and Vy couldn't help but laugh at his antics. She did it.

She was accepted to Aeon. She looked back at the letter and reread the first sentence "...we are pleased to inform you that..." again. And again. And again.

She concentrates back on Nick ready to share the news and relaxes as he stares back at her. He could tell from the look on her face. " _ **I'm proud of you, ya know?**_ "

It was nothing special, just a small declaration but Vy knew from that moment on she was screwed.

Tears were blurring her vision but her smile lit up the room. Right now, it didn't matter that she got accepted, all that mattered was that Saint Nick was proud of her.

Yeah, she loved her life - she loved her brother.

* * *

  
**Jaime** was not used to being on the receiving end of pranks. They pranked people, not the other way around.

While most of their practical jokes didn't cause any significant physical harm, they did tend to traumatised the poor souls who got caught up in their antics.

Swaying upside down, staring down at their classmates with pie slowly dripping from their face, Jaime could see most of them were staring at Jaime in slight fear but great pride. Jaime had fucked up. They had called them in for a supposed emergency and they had walked right into a trap.

Someone had set up a tripwire that they had somehow missed, that proceed to activate a robot from the corner of the room, who then threw a pie straight at them.

Simultaneously, the tripwire was not so much a tripwire, but a trigger snare that snapped at their ankle and proceeded to dangle them upside down.

The work of amateurs, yes, but it was so simplistic that Jaime had not expected it.

A brave soul, Valera most likely, spoke out in the crowd, boldly proclaiming something Jaime never thought they'd here.

" _ **How's the taste of your own medicine now, ya little shit?**_ "

The words rang inside their head and Jaime just stared at them with a dumb look on their face. And then they burst out laughing.

The class just looked dumbfounded, some due to how they're laugh was more of a maniacal cackle, and others because... well they were laughing.

They had pranked them - successfully too.

Through the years, no one had the guts to prank them back - retaliate with fists sure, but never pranks. Jaime was honestly a little proud of their classmates.

They often showed they respected someone through pranks - the more outlandish, the more likely Jaime respected you. And this class certainly pulled a fast one on them. Oh, this was going to be a fun year. They knew it.

After a few Jaime let out a chilling smile, eyes full of glee and simply said: "Let the Oscar go Golfing Sigma-Fifer"

Something they failed to take into account. Jaime had rigged every classroom with various traps and hidden pranks that would unleash if they had said a few weird phrases.

Pandemonium struck. Jaime smiled as they watched their classmates eyes grow in fear at the various contraptions popping out of the classroom.

"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET A TURRET?!"

And once again, Jaime laughed their heart out.

Jaime would take good care of them. It was going to be a fun year.

* * *

~~_I do apologise._ ~~

* * *

  
**Pierce** felt like he was floating in water. It shifted around him and tendrils of thorns poked their heads from the surface, edging towards him. He felt it brush against his leg and tried to hold himself together.

He didn't fight them. He was tired. He was done. He could finally rest. He could feel the thorns edge up his legs and wrap around his torso, but he refused to move. He sat there accepting it. He could finally rest. Until he heard voices. He ignored them. He didn't want to go back. He didn't want to be tired of the time. He just wanted to sleep. Instead, memories flooded him.

  
_Glitch_. What hadn’t Glitch done for him? The overflowing support from that girl when she found out of the bombing. Her easy camaraderie, warming her way into his cold heart. She never backed down from his unflinching stare, or his cold sarcastic remarks. She would never let herself lose. He would see her again and watch her cry her eyes out when she knew he was safe and sound.

  
_Ambrose_. The instructor that challenged him. The instructor that supported him when he found out about the bombing. It was nice for once, to have an adult who wasn't in the family that recognised his skills. That pushed him to strive for the best, even if he didn't want him too. He didn't know if he would be sad if he died. He *did* know that he would be mad and disappointed for not fighting through the thorns, through this heavy fog. He knew that he'd tell him to show him that his high score was meaningless in the face of his sheer determination. 

  
_Gray_. The cookie thief. The brother thief. He had hated him at first. Back when he just starting to control his emotions. He was a constant reminder of how he was *broken*. But then he made Nick happy. And then Pierce slowly got used to him. And now he was part of the family. Another older brother. Someone he learned to count on. How would he feel? Would he try to stay strong for Nick? Would he take on the pressure so that his family could morn? It seemed like something he would do, he was too much of a people pleaser. He needed him to come back to knock some sense into him sometimes.

  
The tendrils that were building up over his body began to hesitate as if they noticed Pierce seemed to be blocking out all the pain. Some tightened, but others loosened. Now the voices broke through the invisible barrier and reached his ears.

  
" _We're sorry for leaving. We're sorry for being afraid. Please come back. Please give us another chance. We love you Pierce.... **our little Omnicron**_." His parents. Hope and John. He thought of his mother, who while she did leave - she tried to find ways to come back to him, safely. And his father, trying so hard to be there for both him and Hope. They even called him Omnicron. They had stopped calling him that, after the incident. He thought about how hard they were trying for him. The thorns loosened a bit.

  
"Come on Pierce. I need you to come back. I need you to tease me about my stupid crush on your brother, so I can tease you about Kent. _I still nee- **I want you to come back**._" Sally. He thought of Sally's cuddles and sweet words, even when he never accepted them. He thought of how she stuck by him, even as she slowly learned to filter out the predictions. How even if he wasn't needed anymore, she was still there for him. He often thought that their relationship was based on co-dependence and would never last...He thought she didn't love him as he loved her. He wanted her to know how much she helped him, even if he never showed it. He didn't want her to go to the funeral with a fake smile. He knew she was waiting for him to come home and he didn’t want to fail her. His **sister** needed him.

  
The tendrils started to retreat from Pierce. He raised his arms, pushing his palms against them just to make sure they didn’t constrict around him. His eyes were teary, but they stayed in. They wanted to pull him beneath the surface…to suffocate him and force him to give in. Despite all of that Pierce couldn’t think of dying...Not after those voices. He refused to think of it.

  
"Antigone and Cassandra will miss you if you leave. You promised them you would cuddle with them later, remember? Don't break your promise. You never break your promises remember? Don't leave them. **_Don't leave me_**." _Kent_. He could hear the underlying concern through his monotone delivery. He never thought he would be able to like someone, distrust always rampant in his mind. Hell, he had hated him at first. But somehow, Kent pulled him in. He fell in love - for the first time he could say he wanted to have a future with someone.

  
The thorns were almost all gone, he was swimming up to the surface, stubbornly holding back the tears threatening to slip from his eyes. But one held true, twisted around his ankle. He was so close...yet so far.

  
_Nick_. He thought of Nick. If he was gone what would happen to him and his beautiful smile. What would happen to the button surprises, would he bake them again? What would happen to his laugh? Would it be the final straw that broke his back - after all that pressure in his life? Would he be fine? He sucked in a breath imagining the pain and suffering he would have to endure if Pierce wasn’t there to help. He imagined him changing into someone completely different. A grieving side he would never wish on anyone. 

  
"Button. I love you. I don't know if you can hear me or not but I love you. I want you to know that it's okay. I know you want to rest. I know you're tired. I'm not going to lie, I want you to come back, but it's okay if you don't. _**You can rest if you want. I'll watch over them."**_

  
The words shot through his heart and Pierce let himself cry. Of course, Nick would do that. It was **_Nick_**. How could he forget? When he doubted how everyone loved him, he was constantly reminded every day. If everyone else had abandoned him, he would always be there for him.

  
He somehow fought against all the pain his legs, the loss of muscles. He snapped the thorn still around his ankle and pushed through the pain.

  
_I won’t leave them_. He thought of the four of his friends waiting for him.

  
_I won’t give up_. He thought of his family.

  
_I will not die_. He thought of Nick.

  
The fog cleared.

* * *

In the hospital, Pierce opened his eyes and smiled.  
"I'm sorry I took so long,"


End file.
